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School of Journalism & Broadcasting News

SJ&B JUNIOR NAMED GUTHRIE/MAYES PR STUDENT OF THE YEAR

Drew Mitchell, a junior at WKU, has received the Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations Student of the Year Award.

Mitchell was selected from a pool of applicants submitted to the Louisville public relations firm by department heads at colleges and universities throughout Kentucky. Mitchell and six other semifinalists were asked to submit additional written background and to produce a 1-minute video to explain the strengths they bring to the public relations profession. Four finalists were selected for interviews by Guthrie/Mayes staff along with a series of writing exercises.

As the winning student, Mitchell will receive a paid eight-week, summer internship at Guthrie/Mayes, where he will gain experience with media outreach, participation in client meetings and planning sessions, on-site support for client events and other PR work. Past Guthrie/Mayes interns have gone on to careers in PR-related fields and some have returned to Guthrie/Mayes for permanent employment.

A Bowling Green native, Drew is the son of Linda and Rick Mitchell.

Dan Hartlage, a Guthrie/Mayes principal, said he was very impressed with the quality of PR Student of the Year nominations. “We received some outstanding nominations,” he said. “That made the selection process very difficult. Each candidate we met with has the potential to succeed in this business.”

Hartlage added: “During the selection process, Drew demonstrated some very good writing skills and he appears to be a very strategic thinker. That is what this industry needs, and we are looking forward to him joining us for the summer.”

“We are very proud of Drew for being selected for this honor,” said Loup Langton, Director of WKU’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting. “He's an outstanding representative of the School and the Public Relations Program, and his internship at Guthrie/Mayes provides a great example of the real-world experience many of our SJ&B students obtain even before they graduate. We know that he will gain invaluable experience during his internship at Guthrie/Mayes, and that he will prove a valuable asset to them as well.”

Founded in 1977, Guthrie/Mayes is one of Kentucky’s largest independent public relations firms. It is based in Louisville, with an office in Lexington.